My Favorite Mysteries & Thrillers of 2023!

MY FAVORITE MYSTERIES & THRILLERS OF 2023

By Jay Roberts

Hey everybody!

I'm by no means first and I may be pretty close to being the last but I figure with the end of 2023 heading our way in just a few short hours, now might be the time to look back at the books I enjoyed most this year.

I have to preface this whole piece by saying my total number of books took another hit this year. For some reason I just didn't seem to be able to read as fast or as many books as I have in the past.
But for those books I did read, wow what a collection of thrills, chills, bodies and the occasional hail of bullets I got to bear witness to in 2023.

Before I get to this year's selections, I do want to make note of two books that didn't come out in 2023 but when I read them this year, they made just knocked me out with how good they were. And the fact that they were both Sherlock Holmes related really made my day.

The first is the 2022 book Holmes Coming by Kenneth Johnson. The writer actually had a TV movie made of this story a while back but when that didn't take off, it was reconfigured into a mystery novel and I just loved it.

The second book is called A Knife in the Fog by Bradley Harper. Published in 2018, it teams Sir Arthur Conan Doyle teaming up with Dr. Joseph Bell (the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes) and Margaret Harkness to track down Jack the Ripper. I was riveted by this story and wish I could read it again for the first time.

I should also mention that I've continued reading more books in author James R. Benn's Billy Boyle World War II mystery series and they have been a continual source of happiness for me.

Meanwhile, outside of the continued battling over banning books, the most disappointing book related news for me was learning that author Ellen Hart has pretty much retired from writing thus bringing an end to one of my favorite book series, The Jane Lawless mysteries. Ellen, thank you for your wonderful mysteries all these years!

I will also miss the Sherry Harris written Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon mystery series which has ended after three books. I loved the series a lot and wish it was going to continue onward.

And now...here's my favorite books of 2023!

REMINDER: If a book isn't on here that you liked a lot, I either didn't read it or didn't like it as much as you did. This is MY list!

Because I liked how I split my lists up last year so the cozy mystery genre got some extra love, I have decided to do that again this year.

There were five cozy mysteries that really hit the mark for me this year! And though I'm don't have them in any particular order, here's my...

It wouldn't be a favorites list from me without including a book from author Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell). I know that Four Leaf Cleaver was published all the way back in January of this year but it still managed to resonate ever so strongly with me. The Country Store Mysteries series is far and a way my favorite cozy series and this 11th book manages to once again prove why I love Maddie's writing so much. You can check out my review of the book HERE!

And if you are wondering what about the other books Maddie published this year, I am ashamed to admit that I have fallen a bit behind which I hope to rectify and catch up soon. Though I did get to read a very early draft of the first CeCe Barton mystery Murder Uncorked.

I am a major fan of author Vicki Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series but this year I really loved the return of her Year-Round Christmas series. The new book, Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas, was pretty darn exciting to read, a real gift to the readers. You can check out my review via this Mystery Scene magazine link.

Meanwhile, the Agatha award-winning author Korina Moss had herself a heck of a year. She published two books in her Cheese Shop Mystery series and both of them were damn fine reads. The first of the year was entitled Curds of Prey (See Review Here) while the second one was called Case of the Bleus. (See Review Here) This series is fast becoming one of my favorite series and I can't wait for the next book to come out.

And finally, since I love books set in Ireland and/or Scotland, how could I not love the latest installment in Carlene O'Connor's Irish Village series Murder at an Irish Bakery? (Here's my review!)

In 2024, I hope to get back on track to reading a lot more and I want to dig deeper into the cozy genre and check out a number of books that I know I've been missing out on from both established and new-to-me authors.

Oh, and with a reality baking show being the setting for the Carlene O'Connor book, I couldn't help but think of this little gem:

As for the thrillers I liked the most this year, I have another odd-numbered set of selections. These books were the cream of the crop for me for a variety of reasons and I can't wait to see what comes next for each of the series.

So here's the 8 thrillers I liked the most in 2023.

Are you looking for a thriller with a smart and feisty modern-day heroine that not only gives you a compelling tale of mystery and intrigue but sets up a rather seismic game change for what's to come? Well then, the Joanna Schaffhausen book Dead and Gone featuring Detective Annalisa Vega will be right up your alley. (My Full Review)

Or how about Only the Dead, the latest James Reece thriller by author Jack Carr? Held prisoner for a crime he didn't commit, Reece has to not only figure a way out of a black site but finally bring an end to a decades long conspiracy that already claimed his father's life but threatens to destroy the very fabric of democracy. Blood, bodies and bullets galore, this is a fantastic, fast-paced and frantic book that will leave you breathless!

Legal thrillers, do you like legal thrillers? Well have I got a great one for you. I will say this again and again...Michael Connelly is one of the best-ever crime fiction writers. And boy did he give readers a doozy with his latest Lincoln Lawyer novel Resurrection Walk. Teaming up Mickey Haller with his half brother Harry Bosch to take on the case of a woman wrongfully sent to prison for killing her husband was a deeply involving story that kept me on the edge of my seat. (My Mystery Scene Review)

Author Chris Hauty continued his hot streak with the latest Hayley Chill thriller The Devil You Know. Explosive action and a damaged hero determined to save the day makes this one heck of a read. (My Full Review)

Author Paige Shelton has always been a cozy mainstay. But when she started her Alaska Wild series which is more of a traditional mystery / thriller series, she really knocked it out of the park. And her latest book in the series, Lost Hours, features a compelling plotline with plenty of characters who jump off the page in an engrossing story that only further whets my appetite for more books in the series. (My Mystery Scene Review)

The heat is on in author Lee Goldberg's first Sharpe & Walker thriller. I love his Eve Ronin series a lot so I was willing to check out this new series from Goldberg without knowing much about it. What I found was two arson investigators trying to trace the source of some mysterious fires. And how does it tie into a charming but fatally flawed con man that Andrew Walker once helped put in jail. Well, faithful readers, pick up a copy and find out...you won't regret it. (My Full Review)

There's a bit of a Holmesian touch to author Martin Edwards character Rachel Savernake but in the third Golden Age set mystery The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge, you will quickly cast aside that comparison as you settle in for a story that is chock full of great characters, murder, disappearances and deadly secrets. While this book had been released in England the year prior, it was released in the US this year. I hadn't read the first two books but this was one heck of a story that will have me wanting many more Rachel Savernake adventures. (My Mystery Scene Review)

And finally, there is Code Red, the latest Mitch Rapp thriller to be written by author Kyle Mills. It is also the last book Kyle Mills will be writing in the series. After 10 years and 10 great books, he's passing the torch to Don Bentley. But before that happens, there's one final mission for Mitch to go on. And he hates the very notion of it. He has to repay a favor to an international drug dealer. A new drug is coming on the market, 100 percent addictive and 100 percent fatal. And the target is the United States. Taking Mitch back to his earliest days where he operated more on his own that with his now large supporting cast, Mills tosses Rapp into a war-torn Syria where he has to fight off terrorists, the government and the real villains behind this new plot. There's a lot of moving parts to the story but Mills handles everything perfectly. The Mitch Rapp series has been expertly handled by Kyle Mills and Code Red serves as both confirmation of this and as one final victory lap go-round for an author who not only took up the Mitch Rapp baton but made the character his own at the same time. Code Red is just a flat out great thriller that elevates the genre!

And that's a wrap on 2023 for me. But 2024 is shaping up to be one hell of a year already. Besides anticipating new books from everyone on this list, there's a new C.J. Box coming out, plenty of cozies to check out and a the 10-years-in-the-waiting new thriller The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes. I have an advance copy of that book but I'm going to be attending a signing by the author in a couple of months and that's going to be a book that I'm eagerly waiting to read so that I can (hopefully) rave about it!

Talk about a thumbs up kind of moment!